EFF Leader Julius Malema Reaffirms Mandatory Vaccine Stance: 'No One Should Be Forced'
- EFF commander-in-chief Julius Malema has again stressed that the Covid-19 vaccine jab should not be forced on anyone
- Malema, who has been vocal about the vaccine, said people should feel encouraged to take it on their own accord
- In October last year, the politician famously suggested that his decision to take the vaccine was inspired by Jews taking it
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JOHANNESBURG - Julius Malema made no bones about his disregard for plans of a mandatory Covid-19 vaccine as the possibility that the government may enforce it heightens.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader stressed that no one in South Africa should be compelled to take the vaccine as it would go against their will. His utterances come as several tertiary institutions embark on this course of action before the intake of students amid the start of the new academic year.
Source: Getty Images
The politician was speaking on the sidelines of handing over a new house to a family in Kagiso on Gauteng's West Rand on Wednesday, SABC News reported.
Malema said while mandatory vaccination is essentially unlawful, the country's citizens, including students, should still feel encouraged to get the jab at their leisure.
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Option to choose to vaccinate
"As a party, the best we can do is implore people to do the right thing, which is to vaccinate. People need not be bullied to be won over. Democracy is about [gently] persuading people," explained Malema.
Previously, according to an IOL report, Malema addressed the issue of people having the option to get vaccinated, among a range of topics, when he engaged with students at Cape Peninsula University of Technology's Bellville campus in October last year.
When stressing that people should exercise their free will to get vaccinated, the red berets commander famously insinuated that his decision to get the jab was influenced by Jewish people.
"I got vaccinated. No one will force me. The Jews don't play with their lives. I vaccinated because I saw the Jewish people vaccinated," said Malema.
SA removed from EU Nations' Red Lists
Elsewhere, Briefly News recently reported that South Africa is no longer on the Red Lists of European Union (EU) countries, a decision that Lindiwe Sisulu, the former Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation and current Tourism Minister, is welcoming with open arms.
The decision to remove South Africa from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s list follows the country's discovery of the Omicron Covid-19 variant. Sisulu said the move was welcomed but lamented the devastating impact of the travel bans on the economy.
"The travel bans were reimposed in late November amid the peak of the tourist season, leading to over R1 billion being lost in cancelled bookings.
"In any event, we welcome visitors from the EU to our shores and affirm their safety is assured," said Sisulu, thanking tourism stakeholders for advocating for the removal.
Source: Briefly News
